In a typical packaging application, articles are placed in a container with a dunnage material for shipment. The dunnage material fills at least a portion of the void between the container and the article to prevent or to minimize movement of the article relative to the container and/or to prevent or to minimize damage to the article during shipment. Some commonly used dunnage materials are plastic foam peanuts, plastic bubble pack, air bags and crumpled paper dunnage.
Many freight haulers base their rates for transporting the packages based on volume, weight, distance transported or combinations thereof. Consequently, packages often are weighed prior to shipment. The freight rates generally include a schedule of prices, each price being assigned to a range of package weights, sizes, transportation zones, or combinations thereof.